UFC heavyweight Stefan Struve has been diagnosed with a leaking aortic valve, as well as an enlarged heart, leaving his fighting career in jeopardy, according to a report from UFC Tonight on Tuesday.

Struve was in the hospital late last month. He has been given medication and been sent home to rest for the next eight weeks. Apparently, Struve has two leaflets in his aortic valve – the general population has three.

If the medication has not helped after the eight weeks are up, he may have to opt for open-heart surgery. It is unclear at this time if the seven-footer will ever be able to compete in the Octagon again.

This comes at an unsettling time for the Dutchman as the 25-year-old was just entering his fighting prime. Having gone 4-1 in his last five fights with two Submission of the Night bonuses and a Fight of the Night bonus to his credit, the kickboxing standout was just starting to find his grove inside the world’s premier fighting organization.

“Skyscraper” has amassed 13 fights in the UFC since debuting at UFC 95 in 2009. Over that time, he has become one of the company’s longest-tenured heavyweights, despite his young age. Now, with this unfortunate news, the MMA community is left wondering if the once-promising striker will ever get his chance to fight again.

Struve’s manager, Lex McMahon, passed along the following statement to the UFC Tonight crew:

“Stefan is optimistic about the eventual outcome and fully plans on living a long, healthy, active, happy life and eventually returning to competition and his quest to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

“Stefan wants to thank all the fans who have supported him thus far, as well as Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for immediately getting engaged with this issue and providing Stefan access to the best possible medical care.”

The news comes as an absolute shock to the fighting community. The massive striker has endeared himself to fans in a short amount of time with his aggressive fighting style and tough-as-nails approach.

This news is unfortunate, however, modern advances in medicine are happening every day, and Struve remains hopeful that he’ll be back in the Octagon once again.

sad to hear that, love a stand out fighter like Stefan, even if he looses I still love to watch him fight. but you gotta take care of #1 first best of luck Struve!!

Darin

This sucks. Struve was always entertaining.

KungFuPanda

Keep your head up kid. You made it to the UFC, that’s something not a lot of people in this game can say. Best wishes and make the most of your next chapter in life.

Milosc

This guy was just coming into his own. His striking has been steadily improving and overall game really started breaking through it’s shell

I hope for a miracle, here, because he really has a lot going for him

Jango

Get Well Soon.

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Kbroesq

I hope he’s okay. I really like Struve. He’s a very talented fighter and has won a lot of fights people expected him to lose. He may never be champ, but he’s good enough to stay in the UFC as a career, and that’s a hard enough accomplishment.